Unexpected

I received a phone call yesterday from a gentleman whose mother passed away last year, but left behind some unfinished quilt tops. He asked if I could get the last one quilted for him by Christmas, and since I'm almost caught up on holiday quilts, accepted the quilt. 

Since he's not a quilter, I need to run to Pieces this morning to obtain a backing for it, as well as some binding material should the backing not suit for the binding. I'll take the top with me to make sure we can get the most out of the shopping trip. 

Meanwhile, I'm working on Reta's second quilt on DW today and here's what's on Bernie this morning...

Virginia's Wooly Snowmen

Since I have this new rush that came in yesterday, and since Reta's quilt that's on DW is HUGE, it'll be a while before I get to Virginia's. But it's so darn cute to look at isn't it?

Let's talk about backings. I've had two backs, back to back (lol), that have been so short I've had to pin baste in front of my red snappers. This takes a lot of time, and since I don't needle well, a lot of pokes in the finger. Here's what I mean...

See all the pins?

And yesterday I had to use safety pins because the leaders on Bernie are so thick, the flower-headed pins won't flex enough to get them back through to the front. UGH. Please, please, please, give me enough backing material to at least get the top and bottom on without having to pin to the canvas leaders.